Eight COVID-19 patients in ICU, as Guyana confirms 31 cases

Eight individuals are now patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital, one of whom is said to be critical, as authorities yesterday confirmed 31 cases of the Coronavirus. The deaths remain at four. During her update to the nation yesterday afternoon, Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence, disclosed that from February 26th to April 6th, the total number of persons who have been tested has moved to 115, of whom 31 are positive, 84 are negative and one inconclusive test— which later proved negative after 14 days of isolation. There are 23 individuals in institutional isolation who are disseminated across Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Seven, and 35 in institutional quarantine by the Ministry of Public Health. With regards to the regional breakdown for those quarantined, the Health Minister stated that there are ten persons in Region Three, 22 in Region Four and three in Region Six. Lawrence was keen to note that three family members of the first index case, who tested positive, had two postisolation tests conducted on them. With satisfaction, she added that tests for each of the family members came back negative, clearing them as vectors of the disease. Furthermore, the Health Minister disclosed that eight cases associated with Guyana’s first case have recovered after isolation. Meanwhile, calls to the COVID-29 hotline totaled 1, 495 as of yesterday. These include calls from Regions Three, Four and Ten. To strengthen the capacity of surveillance for early identification of cases, the Ministry of Public Health will launch an app that will provide individuals with the opportunity of reporting symptoms. The Health Minister asked for citizens to stay tuned for the launch of that application. (Kaieteur News)